Suchergebnisse

Women and ethnic minorities are underrepresented in national parliaments around the world. Interestingly, in the Netherlands ethnic minority women are better represented than ethnic minority men and ethnic majority women. The Netherlands did not adopt gender quotas, but some parties implemented target numbers. Drawing on document analysis and interviews, this article explores whether parties that encourage women's representation are also likely to increase the number of ethnic minority representatives. It finds that party-specific factors such as a left or social democratic ideology, the institutionalization of gender and/or ethnicity within the party and the party's vision on group representation are intertwined. Parties that actively encourage women's representation are more inclined to openly acknowledge the importance of ethnic diversity. This especially favours ethnic minority women, who benefit from the strong embedding of gender. In the end gender determines the success of the ethnic card in political representation. Adapted from the source document.

The term performance - a temporary and active presentation, expression, or act - has a presence in all cultural media and genres, and has repercussions for taking on, experiencing, and enacting an identity as well. Performance reaches beyond theatre, ballet and music to any human behaviour that is constantly performed through personal acts that contradict stereotypes - not just with regard to gender, but equally so with regard to class and ethnicity or race. The theme Gender and Performance focuses upon the performative strength of gender through various media: feminist and political theatre, an online 'private' novel turned radio play, protest movements, internet beauty blogs, dressing and fashion and the performativity of the word slut. Gender and performativity will take the reader to the Netherlands, Austria, Canada, Mexico and the Philippines

Noting that problems with social exclusion are increasingly related to unemployment, ethnic factors, & urban crime in Belgium, the applicability of the primarily British & US concept of the underclass is examined. Definitions of the concept are discussed, arguing that some are too vague to clearly circumscribe a sociologically relevant group, & others possess a moral undertone that renders their explanatory power minimal. Although the term cannot be applied straightforwardly to the Belgian situation, three recurrent aspects of its definitions are explored: economic marginality, deviant values regarding work & family, & criminal behavior. It is found that economic marginality in Belgium is not as stable as in the UK & US, & relevant values & behavior are not specifically associated with or restricted to economically marginal groups. However, the expression of conflict in terms of ethnicity is recognized. It is concluded that, although Belgium's problems can be viewed in a framework of underclass formation processes, no definable underclass exists. Adapted from the source document.